Chemotherapy in india

Chemotherapy is a general term for treatments that use chemical agents (drugs) to kill cancer cells. Many different kinds of drugs are used, either alone or in combination, to treat different cancers. The specific drug or combination used is chosen to best combat the type and extent of cancer present.

Chemotherapy drugs are tested against various forms of cancer in an effort to find out which drugs work against that particular type of cancer. Multiple drugs, each individually effective against a certain cancer, are often combined to try and maximize the effect against the cancer. Drugs are combined so that there are few overlapping side effects, to make the treatment more tolerable. These combinations are then tested in clinical trials to see how effective they are. If a combination works better than the current "standard" treatment, it will become the new standard therapy.

Chemotherapy drugs are given for several reasons :-

To treat cancers that respond well to chemotherapy
To decrease the size of tumors for easier and safer removal by surgery
To enhance the cancer-killing effectiveness of other treatments, such as radiation therapy
In higher dosages, to overcome the resistance of cancer cells
To control the cancer and enhance the patient's quality of life

Chemotherapy in india

• Cytotoxic agents - Drugs that destroy cancer cells. Common types of cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs include Alkylating agents modify/damage cancer cell DNA and block the replication of DNA, therefore interfering with the growth of cancer cells.
• Anti-tumor antibiotics work against cancer cell changes and inhibit them .
• Mitotic inhibitors slow cancer cell division or hinder certain enzymes necessary in the cell reproduction process.
• Immunotherapy is intended to boost the recognition of cancer cells by the body's immune system, thereby helping the body to destroy cancer cells.
• Cellular therapy involves the use of immunologic cells that selectively kill cancer cells.
• Radio-Pharmaceuticals are substances that are inbuilt with radioactive markers and work to selectively deliver radiation therapy to cancer cells.
• Anticancer antibodies are specially engineered antibodies given and target cancer cells for removal by the immune system.
• Anticancer vaccines contain agents intended to help the immune system more readily recognize cancer cells as foreign and fight to eliminate them